The Asia Poker League Reloaded measured up to its name with a highly successful seven days of poker and a massive 911 entries storming in for the Main Event at the Beijing Poker Club. This was an incredible achievement for the APL having nearly doubled last year’s attendance of 472 entries.

The highlight event offered five entry flights for a buy-in of CNY 5,500 (US$800). The prize pool amounted to CNY 4,555,000 (US$660,674) with 108 players seeing a payout. Deep into the evening, the tournament finally found its champion with teacher Gang Gevictorious.

Gang Ge Wins the APL Main Event for $116,226 (CNY 800,000 )

Gang Ge

The final day began with 32 players back at the felt. While there were several favored pros still in the running such as Li Yan, Li Si Xiao, Steve Yeah, and chip leader Canlin Chen, the title was not theirs for the taking. Instead, it was Gang Ge, a teacher that won his seat through an online satellite who rose to victory.

Ge shared, “I always tell my students that poker is a game of skill and I encourage them to play. The fact that international players joined and increased the level of the competition made the tournament event more interesting.”

One of the biggest surprises of the final day was the early departure of chip leader Canlin Chen in 25th place. When the field trimmed down to the final table, female pro Li Yanmanaged to make the cut but was stopped in her tracks in 5th place. One of her crucial hands saw her lose a large portion of her stack with her AK defeated by K7.

Last but Not Least : Denis Pham takes down the last event of the festival

Denis Pham

Despite his late arrival in Beijing, Somuchpoker co-founder Denis Pham made good use of his time by winning the last event of the festival, the NLH 8 max event. There were 55 players in total, each one contributing CNY 3,300 buy in (US$470) for a CNY 165,000 (US$23,971) prize pool.

Interestingly, while a Chinese national claimed all the other events,the heads up of round itself had a special flavor with Denis Pham defeating Korea national Steve Yeah. Phamtook home the last trophy and the CNY 53,400 (US$7,758) first prize.

A huge milestone for this daring young poker league

Now that the sleeping giant China has been tried and tested, there is no doubt that it is the newest frontier for live poker. This promising market continues to create a lot of interest from many enthusiastic international poker outfits. The journey within however comes with multiple barriers thus making it particularly challenging for these foreign companies, not excluding the young APL who has had its share of difficulties at the start.

Despite this, the APL took on the challenges and successfully produced a second major event in Beijing. The Main Event attracted over 900 players demonstrating APL’s ability to position itself as a key player in this promising market

What’s next for the young poker league? In talking to Somuchpoker, APL Founder Judic Kim said,

“ Our next goal is to project our events outside of Mainland China. Players will have the chance to embrace the APL experience in South East Asia in the coming months”.

Throughout the APL event, Somuchpoker noticed the participation of many international players including several known pros from Asia Pacific. The likes of Mike Kim, Tetsuya Tsuchikawa, and Aussies Natalie Segon and Mel Judah all made the trip showing a growing interest for a league that hosted its first event less than one year ago.

Now that the weeklong festival has concluded, the global picture that is emerging is that the Asia Poker League has passed a crucial milestone and is now ready to expand.

]]>http://asiapokerleague.com/2017/05/01/teacher-tops-911-strong-field-to-claim-us116162-apl-main-event-1st-prize/feed/0Asia Poker League Beijing Main Event by the numbershttp://asiapokerleague.com/2017/04/21/asia-poker-league-beijing-main-event-by-the-numbers/
http://asiapokerleague.com/2017/04/21/asia-poker-league-beijing-main-event-by-the-numbers/#respondFri, 21 Apr 2017 19:00:17 +0000http://asiapokerleague.com/?p=4341The Asia Poker League Reloaded (APL) has been on fire at the Beijing Poker Club with a total of eight days of nonstop poker scheduled from April 15-22, 2017. With the fifth and last starting flight of the Main Event now in the books, it is time for us to take a look at the astounding numbers of this ongoing festival

Entries: The first edition of the event (which was held last year) saw 472 entries. While this was a big number to beat, by the third day, it was a goner as the numbers continued to soar. With a massive 271 entries recorded for the last flight, Day 1E, by far the largest attendance out of all the flights, the grand total summed up to a huge 911 entries.

Day 2: Although there were big fields generated at each starting day, the number of players that actually advanced into Day 2 was minimal with only 250 in total.

Prize pool: Players will be looking at a CNY 4,555,000 (US$660,674) prize pool

Payouts: The eventual champion will earn a big chunk of the pie, a total of CNY 800,000 (US$116,162). Only 108 players will see a profit with payouts starting at CNY 9,900 (US$1,437).

Chip leadersWang Peng
Day 1A chip leader – Yang Tao with 245,300 will enter Day 2 as the overall leader;

Day 1B chip leader – Wang Pang with 222,400 in chips;

Day 1C chip leader – Chen Dong with 177,000 in chips;

Day 1D chip leader – Cui Jiabin with 195,700 in chips is a decorated pro with a WPT National Korea 2015 Main Event title;

Day 1E chip leader – Xu Zhou Chang with 197,700 will enter Day 2 running second in chips;

Notables

Steve Yea

Fans will be keeping an eye on some of the better-known players out in the field such as Li Yan, Steve Yea, and Yao Hui.

Between the three, Li Yan will be entering Day 2 with the largest stack at 165,000. She is definitely one of the favorites with very impressive stats under her belt. Last year, she won the APPT 10 Manila High Roller event and is on a good run this year with five cashes including a 7th place finish at the recently concluded PokerStars Championship Macau Main Event.

Korean national Steve Yea advances into Day 2 with 137,300 in chips. Yea has over half a million dollars in live tournament earnings with a large chunk won back in 2008 for his 2nd place finish at the APT Macau Main Event. Last year saw Yea post more tournament cashes with several small payouts earned at the WSOP.

Yao Hui will enter Day 2 with 157,200 in chips. Unlike Yan and Yea, Hui works more under the radar playing many small events throughout the year.

Every poker festival tends to include a new twist in their event lineup and at the Asia Poker League Reloaded, it was definitely the team event. Unlike other team tournaments, the format for this one was quite unusual, and upon witnessing the action, it seemed extremely fun to play with players allowed to collude as part of the game.

Team Event Mechanics:

Shootout format

Each team is composed of 3 players

Each table is composed of three complete teams (9 players total)

The first team to lose two members is eliminated from the game

Last team standing at the table advances to the next round and so on

Final Table reached with last three teams competing; same rules apply

There were 20 teams that entered the event with each team contributing CNY 4,000 (US$580) for a prize pool of CNY 73,600 (US$10,690). The event had an international flavor to it with a majority of the teams comprised of players from their respective nations.

Team Event action

Once the event began, all eyes were on one specific table, a Japanese team with famous pop idol GACKT as their captain.

The round saw his team up against a Korean team led by Steve Yeah and a Chinese team led by Zhang Yan Chun, the owner of the host venue, the Beijing Poker Club.

and a vibrant Team India led by Vikram Verma with not-so Indian James Kim joining them.

After several elimination- rounds and the hour running very late, the final table of three teams was reached with all of them now in the money

Team GACKT was still in contention however despite their efforts, they eventually fell to a local team to finish in a respectable 2nd place. The winning team received the CNY 36,800 (US$5,228) first place cash prize.
The APL is ongoing from April 15-22, 2017 at the Beijing Poker Club and the Somuchpokerteam is onsite and ready to update you with all of the highlights. So stay tuned!

As anticipated, a massive field has been brewing at the Asia Poker League (APL) with Day 1C and Day 1D of the Main Event producing big numbers at the Beijing Poker Club.

The CNY 5,500 entry fee (approx. US$800) saw Day 1C with the largest showing of 196 players while Day 1D had 161. Combine that with the 284 total entries of the first two flights, there are now a whopping 641 entries in the books with one more starting flight to go.

APL founder, Judic Kim, expressed to Somuchpoker,

“We are more than happy about the turnout so far. Last edition of the event in Beijing attracted 472 entries, we have already over-passed this number.”

Here’s a short review of Day 1C and Day 1D:

Day 1C leaders

It was prime time hour at Day 1C with 196 players filling up the tables at the Main Event however by night’s end, only a quarter of the field remained with 49 players bagging up chips. Emerging as the chip leader was Chen Dong with 177,000 in chips followed closely by iconic Chinese female pro Li Yan with 165,000.

Li Yan

While Yan has many accomplishments to boast of, last year witnessed her land a runner-up finish at the APPT 10 Korea High Roller event then two months later, followed it up with a victory at the APPT 10 Manila High Roller event.

Another player into the top ten was Chen Canlin with 119,700. Chen maybe in the shadows but he is someone to keep an eye on as he recently placed 3rd at the PokerStars Championship Macau HK$206K NLH High Roller event.

Last night, another starting flight concluded with Day 1D attracting 161 players to the Main Event. After the allotted twelve levels of play, only 44 held strong with Cui Jiabin leading the pack with 195,700 in chips.

The chip leader Jiabin is a decorated pro with many deep runs in various Macau events. Two years ago, he nearly landed his own Spadie with a runner up finish at the ACOP HK$9,000N NLH event. He returned to the felt the next month and claimed his first major victory at the WPTN Jeju Korea Main Event.

Trailing the leader in third position is poker pro Steve Yea with 137,300 in chips. Yea had his fair share of cashes last year but his biggest live tournament score dates back to 2008 after placing second at the APT Macau HK$5,800 NLH event.

In the lineup of side events to choose from, the APL offered a Heads Up 64 max tournament with a buy-in of CNY 5,500.

In talking to Somuchpoker, the APL tournament Director expressed his enthusiasm at staging this kind of event.

He stated, “Few festivals are offering Heads Up tournaments nowadays. We wanted to give the opportunity to our players to play this special format despite the challenges that it can represent for an event organizer.”

The Pot Limit Omaha event, the only non-Texas Hold’em tournament on the roster, attracted 76 players for a CNY 152,000 prize pool. Topping that event was notable pro Chen Hao who is well known for his victory at the WPTN Sanya Main Event last October. Hao earned CNY 41,000 for his first place finish.

We have just crossed the halfway mark of the event with the APL Beijing 2017 running from April 15-21, 2017. Stay tuned to Somuchpoker for more updates and results on all the ongoing action.

]]>http://asiapokerleague.com/2017/04/21/numbers-climbing-at-the-asia-poker-league-main-event/feed/0Massive field taking shape at the APL Main Event in Beijinghttp://asiapokerleague.com/2017/04/18/1704_02/
http://asiapokerleague.com/2017/04/18/1704_02/#respondTue, 18 Apr 2017 11:19:59 +0000http://asiapokerleague.com/?p=4288Massive field taking shape at the APL Main Event in Beijing

Poker is in full swing at the Beijing Poker Club with the second edition of the Asia Poker League (APL) burning hot the past two days. Scheduled to run for seven days, from April 15th-21st, the series features a highly affordable Main Event, which only costs CNY 5,500 to enter (approx. US$800), plus thirteen side events.

The Main Event has already cleared two out of the seven days of action with a fantastic turnout of 284 players – 127 players for Day 1A and 157 for Day 1B – and as it stands, there were a combined 75 players that advanced into Day 2.

Field Overview

Last year, the first APL Beijing Main Event attracted 465 players, which is currently the number they are looking to overtake. With three more starting flights to follow and players allowed a maximum of two re-entries each, they are well on their way to achieving that goal. Additionally, the host venue, the Beijing Poker Club has previously succeeded in attracting huge numbers with an enormous 1568 field at one of the Beijing Poker Cup events (though with a smaller buy-in).

We will post the final tally, including the prize pool and payouts by Wednesday, at the end of Day 1E. Below is a short recap and the top ten chip counts of Day 1A and Day 1B.

Day 1A leaders

The first entry flight saw 32 players make the cut with Yang Tao storming to the top of the charts with 245,300 at bagging. Zhao Yu also survived the heat with a stack of 92,500. Yu made last year’s final table and finished in a respectable 7th place. One well known player at the felt was last year’s champion, Jing Wang. Wang was seen eager to defend his title however the champ couldn’t hold on to any of his chips.

Day1B_chipleader__1492396745_46671Wang Peng
The second entry flight saw more notable Chinese players in the field such as poker pro Zhou Quan, ranked 5th in China, who recently won the PokerStars Championship Macau HK$206K buy-in NLH High Roller event; pro Wei Guoliang, who won the Tencent Poker Tournament Sanya Main Event back in December; pro Chen Hao who won the WPT National China (Sanya) Main Event in late October 2016; and Changting Chen aka Peggy, a regular on the Asian circuit. All of them however would fail to advance.

For the 43 remaining players at the end of the night, it was Wang Peng on top with 222,400 in chips. Notable players also making it through were Yao Hui with a healthy stack of 157,200, and Chen Guangcheng with less at 72,500.

There were several international players who made the trip over however only a few of them decided to enter the Main Event. Among those who finished with chips to bag were two Korean nationals, Seakyun Yoon and Tae Joon Cho.

Side Events

Su Jie
Running alongside the main was an NLH Re-entry side event with a CNY 2,200 buy-in. There were 52 entries for a prize pool of CNY 104,000 (approx. US$15,096).
Here are the payouts:

In addition to the main, there are some side events to surely look forward to. The CNY 22,000 buy-in High Roller event has already held two satellites with the game getting underway on Tuesday, April 18th.

]]>http://asiapokerleague.com/2017/04/18/1704_02/feed/0Asia Poker League reloadedhttp://asiapokerleague.com/2017/04/18/apl_reloaded/
http://asiapokerleague.com/2017/04/18/apl_reloaded/#respondTue, 18 Apr 2017 11:16:12 +0000http://asiapokerleague.com/?p=4276Yesterday, We saw the kick-off of the Asia Poker League. This is the second edition of this festival in Beijing.

Asia Poker League Main Event

While the WPT is offering a $3,500 buy-in Main Event with an entry number that is capped, the Asia Poker League is featuring a CNY 5,500 (around $800) buy-in Main Eventalong with a multitude of side events (PLO / High Roller / Team event).

More: Asia Poker League Reloaded – Schedule

The two events have a complementary offer, with organisers managing to work together to offer shuttles between the events at their two separate sites.
For Judic Kim, founder of this League, this return to Beijing for the APL has special meaning. Talking to Somuchpoker he said:

“When we decided to launch last year the Asia Poker League one of our goals was to connect the Mainland Chinese poker scene with the rest of the Asian poker world”.

He went on to say: “With this second event in Beijing we are giving the opportunity to international poker players to jump into the Chinese poker scene and the opportunity to Chinese players to compete against international poker players. Hosting events in China can be very challenging – but we have a great partner the Beijing Poker Club and we strongly believe in the importance of this market in the future”.

The first day of the Main Event saw 127 players enter. With four more starting days for the Main Event, the field and prize pool will progressively grow in the coming days. The number of competitors at the last Beijingedition was 465, and so this is the mark to beat. After a strong start yesterday, this goal is more than achievable.

A large contingent of international players has already arrived in Beijing, with many deciding to wait before buying into the Main Event. High on the list of expected players are: Japanese pop star Gackt and WPT National Philippines Champion Tetsusya Tsuchikawa.

Korean players are also expected to make an entrance in the coming days, with several big names taking part in the event: SJ Kim, Steve Yea are only two names among an important delegation

]]>http://asiapokerleague.com/2017/04/18/apl_reloaded/feed/0APL Satellite Winners are ready now for the Main Event!http://asiapokerleague.com/2017/04/06/apl-satellite-winners-are-ready-now-for-the-main-event/
http://asiapokerleague.com/2017/04/06/apl-satellite-winners-are-ready-now-for-the-main-event/#respondThu, 06 Apr 2017 08:34:51 +0000http://asiapokerleague.com/?p=4219APL Satellite Winners are ready now for the Main Event!

Congratulations for the satellite winners in India.

Congratulations “Deepak Kemp Gowda” for the first #apl (Asia poker league) Main Event Package satellite winner at Rockets Room bangalore!
More satellites winners coming soon!! See you all in Beijing China.

Also, “Vikream Verma” is running satellites in India, who comes to APL with India players.

We hope to see all you players in a week! APL is coming soon.

]]>http://asiapokerleague.com/2017/04/06/apl-satellite-winners-are-ready-now-for-the-main-event/feed/0Interview: Judic Kim – The Asia Poker League is going back to Beijinghttp://asiapokerleague.com/2017/03/08/interview-judic-kim-the-asia-poker-league-is-going-back-to-beijing/
http://asiapokerleague.com/2017/03/08/interview-judic-kim-the-asia-poker-league-is-going-back-to-beijing/#respondWed, 08 Mar 2017 02:00:19 +0000http://asiapokerleague.com/?p=4078The Asia Poker League is back with a new event announced in Beijing, starting April 15th. Somuchpoker took some time to discuss this with Judic Kim, founder of the league.
Judic Kim

Somuchpoker: The Asia Poker League has just announced a return to Beijing. Can you tell us more about this upcoming event?

Judic Kim: First, I would like to send a warm “Hello” to our supporters and partners worldwide. It has been a while since our last interview.

To answer your question, the upcoming Asia Poker League “Reloaded” tournament in Beijing on April 15th holds great significance to the brand. As a start-up company on foreign ground we have realised how difficult it is to organise tournaments of such stature. With that said, based on past experience, we have matured and now understand the market better, and with that, players can look forward to our event in Beijing.

SMP: A lot of poker players still have in mind the interruption of the last APL event in Shanghai by the local authorities.

What is pushing you to return to China, a country where it seems to be more complicated to host an event?

What guarantees do you offer to the players who would be interested in joining the event?

Judic Kim: Shanghai, Kunshan is something I’d like to leave behind. However, it is through that incident that the APL has matured. Furthermore, it is easy to put blame on domestic partners and other factors but as was demonstrated to our international and domestic players, the APL took full responsibility.

Why are we going back to Beijing? First and foremost, The Beijing Poker Room (BPR) has proven during our successful first leg that safety and government compliance are two most important factors. The BPR is our strongest partner in a fast-growing market. They have proven time and time again that they are the “go-to” organization in Mainland China. The Beijing Cup in December 2016 brought in over 1,500 entries and just recently in February, they continued their success with a follow-up tournament which boasted close to 1,200 entries for the Main Event. It is an honour and privilege to be invited back.

SMP: Compared to the first edition of the APL last summer in Beijing, what changes can players expect for this event?

Judic Kim: “The World is Yours,” APL Beijing, was the first time international players were invited to BPR, therefore it was kind of rough around the edges in terms of communication. We believe we have resolved those minor issues and players can expect quality gaming. We have also added more satellites and events to cater to the masses.

SMP: What attendance figures do you expect for the Main event?

Ironically enough, the way we handled both events in Mainland China has created quite a positive stir for the APL. Combined with the continued success of BPR we are expecting at least 800-1,000 entries for the Main Event and a substantial amount of entries for our side events. I forgot to add that a new edition of custom made APL trophies will also be displayed.

SMP: What arrangements in terms of visa / flights would you recommend and or provide to international players who decide to join the event? What can players can expect in terms of parties / visits/ foods if they make the trip to Beijing?

Judic Kim: We are arduously developing our website and updating information daily. Players can log on to asiapokerleague.com for information on hotel/travel/event schedule/and tourism online. For more information, such as invitation letters/hotel upgrades, you can reach us through support@asiapokerleague.com. As for who we expect to join our event we are currently organising details with independent international coordinators such as Mike Kim (USA, Philippines), Vikram Verma (Pokerbuddies, India), Denis Pham (Vietnam, Cambodia), Brian C. McAllister (Australia). Other countries we are in talks with are Mongolia, Japan, Malaysia, Macau, and Hong Kong. We will update confirmations through our Asia Poker League Facebook page and on asiapokerleague.com.